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Swing City RadioSaturday, January 16, 2021
Glenn Miller fans are no strangers to the famous Miller Medleys. The majority of them followed the fun format of "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue". So, what's the story behind those classic compilations?
At the end of 1939, Paul Whiteman and his band ended their run on the Chesterfield Cigarettes radio series that was broadcast on CBS. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra were chosen to take his place. For the first 13 weeks of the new series Glenn Miller would also be joined up with The Andrews Sisters.
These shows were scheduled to be 15 minutes long. The challenge the show producers faced over the first three months of the series was fitting in as much Miller Music as possible while providing time for at least one song for The Andrews Sisters. Miller also demanded that his own vocalists Marion Hutton, Ray Eberle and Tex Beneke be featured on all of the programs. The solution: "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue" medleys that were performed during the joint broadcasts with The Andrews Sisters.
The medleys really caught on and soon became a staple in Glenn Miller's live performances. Glenn continued the format until he broke up the band to join the military in the Fall of 1942. While in the military, the format was used again by Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Band for the famous "I Sustain the Wings" broadcasts in 1943 and 1944. He also used the medleys during various BBC broadcasts as well.
Some Great Examples of Glenn Miller Medleys
I believe there are over seventy different recorded "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue" medleys floating around out there scattered throughout various record releases and old radio remotes.
You can hear many of these medleys right here on Swing City Radio.
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